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Christie Williamson

Dear 

Here’s a skin to begin
to win on – taut
wi da tug 
o aathin du nivvirlairnt.

Here’s a fraem ta hing
a future on – nekkit
ta winds
 at blaanaeannsirs.

Here’s a cushion ta faa,
ta faa
ta watch rushin
up at de time an agien.

Here’s a blast at isna past hit.
Here’s a winter warmin up.

Here’s da rod tae da empty forest.
Here’s da fitprintswashd bi da sea.

Here’s a skin to begin to win on – taut/with the tug of everything you’ve ever learnt. //Here’s a frame to hang a future on – naked//to winds that blow no answers. //Here’s a cushion to fall, to fall/to watch rushing up at you time and again. //Here’s a blast that isn’t past it. /Here’s a winter warming up. //Here’s the road to the empty forest. /Here’s the footprints washed by the sea.

About the writer:
Christie Williamson is from Yell in Shetland.  Since 2003, he has been writing, publishing, and performing poetry in his native tongue of Shaetlan and in English.  His first collection, OoanFeddirs was published in 2015 by Luath Press.  He lives in Glasgow where he runs Tell it Slant Books.

Image: Nobody puts a picture of an oil tanker on their wall, do they? by William Hamilton. Acrylic on canvas. No size specified. Before 2018. By permission.

OJAL Art Incorporated, publishing since 2017 as OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters (O:JA&L) and its imprint Buttonhook Press, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation supporting writers and artists worldwide.

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